Create guidelines for CoC responsibilities for in-person OpenJS Foundation events #7
Description
Following up to expand the scope here in OpenJS from @benjamingr in Issue 367 from the Node.js repos
It is currently unclear who is supposed to enforce the Code of Conduct in OpenJS summits.
The moderation team is not empowered to enforce the CoC in summits. When we receive reports to [email protected] in the summit we work with summit organizers to resolve the issue.
So, let's reconcile this.
I have run quite a few conferences over the years, and executing on the Code of Conduct of any community is especially interesting and challenging when it comes to IRL events.
- You need a team of organizers and volunteers who are on the same page as to what to do in a scenario
- You need everyone attending, whether sponsors, organizers, or attendees, to agree to abiding by the CoC as part of the registration/RSVP process
- You need signage onsite and organizers bringing to attention the various ways that a person needing to report has the ability to do so and trust it will be handled responsibly.
The premise here that I've left implicit until now: when the LF Events team organizes, the LF Events team is responsible and does enforcement. When another part is organizing, those organizers are responsible.
In-person enforcement is especially tricky and can absolutely require police intervention unlike most of our online community management, which is why I am not recommending our Moderation Team members be responsible alone or be required to be at these events.
Recommended actions
- Meet with the LF Events team on recommendations and guidance for how their team handles reporting and resolution of reports, including handling legal enforcement.
- Document the 'teeth' of our Code of Conduct, which is the reporting handling(relevant parties notified when appropriate) as well as actually addressing the safety and management of the report parties through completion in a timely fashion.
- Post-report handling so Moderation at the CPC level has record of said reports for future consideration.
- Consider potential training for those who will be responsible for handling this at sanctioned Foundation events when LF Events is not onsite and coordinating.